Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch: ‘Protest is the Highest Form of Patriotism, You Are Trying to Make a Country Better’
THIS IS NOT NEW, unfortunately. America has been killing black people in one form or another since the nation’s founding. From lynching to murder by police, the history is well-documented and contextualized in the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), most poignantly with the display of Emmett Till’s casket. Till was...
AfriCOBRA Artists Honored at School of the Art Institute of Chicago 2020 Virtual Commencement, Offer Advice to Graduates
AfriCOBRA artists Jae Jarrell and Wadsworth Jarrell After years of hard work and dedication to their crafts and curriculums, 2020 graduates are unable to experience the joy and satisfaction of gathering for ceremonies celebrating their accomplishments, due to widespread social distancing mandates in the wake of COVID-19. In-person commencements have been replaced with virtual...
Feature Film About Florida Highwaymen Painters is Coming Soon
THE DRAMATIC TRUE STORY of the Highwaymen, the Florida artists who made a living selling paintings from the trunks of their cars during segregation, is being made into a feature film. “The Highwaymen” is about a group of 26 African American artists, most of them self-taught, who turned out countless paintings of Florida’s lush,...
Longtime Home of Artist Alma Thomas For Sale in Washington, D.C., for $2.2 Million+
Long & Foster Real Estate A RED BRICK ITALIANATE RESIDENCE in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., was home to artist Alma Thomas (1891-1978) for more than 70 years. The house played an integral role in her life and artistic practice. The kitchen served as her studio, where she made the dab-patterned abstract...
Museum of African Diaspora in San Francisco Raised $450,000+ in Online Benefit Auction, Helping to Sustain Operations
MoAD Executive Director Monetta White reported results of online benefit auction in video message to supporters. ARTISTS, GALLERIES, AND COLLECTORS answered a call for support and came together to help the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, which has faced a critical funding shortfall since temporarily closing in the wake of...
South Africa-Based Artist Billie Zangewa is Now Represented by New York Gallery Lehmann Maupin, Her Silk ‘Paintings’ Center the Lives and Experiences of Women
“Soldier of Love” (2020) by Billie Zangewa DRESSED IN A KHAKI TRENCH COAT, Billie Zangewa holds her young son’s hand, escorting him to school. He wears a backpack and a school uniform. Lush green foliage crowds their path. Behind them, the sky is a luminous pink. The everyday scene is of the artist’s own...
Prospect New Orleans Postpones Prospect.5, Pushed Back One Year, Contemporary Art Triennial Will Open October 2021
THIS MORNING, Prospect New Orleans announced that Prospect.5 has been postponed by one year. The forthcoming citywide contemporary art triennial was scheduled to open this fall and, due to the COVID-19 virus, it has been delayed by one year. The new dates are Oct. 23, 2021-Jan. 23, 2022. Prospect.5 is the latest major art...
New York Photographer Dannielle Bowman Wins 2020 Aperture Portfolio Prize
THE WINNER of the 2020 Aperture Portfolio Prize is Dannielle Bowman. Aperture’s annual international competition aims to “identify trends in contemporary photography and highlight artists whose work deserves greater recognition.” Recent bodies of work, made in the past five year and not previously published or displayed prominently are considered. The goal is to discover new...
In Wake of COVID-19, Artists are Uniting to Support the Museum of the African Diaspora San Francisco With an Online Benefit Auction
AN IMPORTANT PLATFORM for artists of African descent, the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco is facing a funding shortfall and possible interruption of operations in the wake of the COVID-19 virus. To help raise funds, the museum is launching its first-ever benefit auction with Artsy. Artists, galleries, and collectors from...
Roberts Projects Announced Representation of Wangari Mathenge, Whose Paintings Foreground Experiences of Black Women
THE WOMEN confidently claim space on sofas, gazing directly at the viewer, holding our attention. The women, reclining and sitting, embrace their culture and express their style through the vibrant colors and patterned fabrics of their clothing, head scarves and throw pillows. The women, by turns introspective, skeptical, and assertive, are the subjects of...
Exploring the Subjectivity of Black Children, Works by Deborah Roberts Have Recently Been Acquired by Museums in Boston, San Francisco, and Scotland
STEPHEN FRIEDMAN GALLERY in London recently announced 10 institutional acquisitions that occurred over the past year. Works by six artists on its roster, including Deborah Roberts, Yinka Shonibare CBE, and Denzil Forrester, have been acquired by museums around the world. “Adam and Eve” (2013) and “The British Library” (2014), installations by Shonibare, were added...
Blum & Poe Now Represents Japanese-Brazilian Artist Asuka Anastacia Ogawa
“Medicine girl” (2019) by Asuka Anastacia Ogawa AFTER HAVING HER FIRST U.S. solo exhibition at Henry Taylor’s studio in Los Angeles on Feb. 11, 2017, Asuka Anastacia Ogawa is now on the roster at his longtime gallery. Blum & Poe announced its representation of Ogawa on April 1. The gallery expects to present her...
Top African American Scholars and Arts Leaders Appointed to New Advisory Council for Johnson Publishing Archive
A CONSORTIUM OF NONPROFITS purchased the Johnson Publishing Archive for $30 million last July. The goal was to safeguard the unparalleled collection for the public benefit. Now a significant next step in the process has been announced. The co-owners have established an advisory council to evaluate and interpret the collection and provide guidance about...
Black-Run Art Spaces Cancel Programming and Announce Closures as Institutions Nationwide Respond to COVID-19
The exhibition galleries at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles remain open to visitors, but public programs are postponed until further notice. CITING SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES from the California Department of Public Health designed “to slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19,” the California African American Museum (CAAM) in Los Angeles cancelled...
Mississippi Museum of Art Names Ryan N. Dennis Chief Curator and Artistic Director
THE MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM OF ART (MMA) in Jackson, Miss., announced two new curatorial appointments this week. Following a national search, the museum named Ryan N. Dennis, chief curator and artistic director of the Center for Art & Public Exchange (CAPE), and Holly R. Harrison, deputy director for art and programs. Dennis will lead the museum’s...
Marian Goodman Gallery Announced its Representation Tavares Strachan, Whose Practice Activates Art, Science, and Politics
Tavares Strachan at 58th Venice Biennale (2019) MULTIMEDIA ARTIST Tavares Strachan has joined Marian Goodman Gallery, the New York-based gallery with locations in Paris and London. Strachan’s artistic practice explores the intersections of art, science, and politics. He works across disciplines to surface unknown histories and investigate the nature of invisibility—why certain histories and...
